>> reporter: a dozen fbi crime scene agents began poring over susie ko's home on ash court at 10:30 this morning. the 55-year-old was found in the front part of the house and she had been stabbed and suffered blunt form trauma to the head according to an autopsy. the fbi was called in because hercules with only 19 police officers doesn't have the manpower or equipment. with only five homicides since 2002, they don't have the experience, either. >> it's very rare that we have this kind of thing and most of the time it's a little more cut and dried. so we're working hard. >> reporter: ko's family released this last family portrait. this tragedy unfolded friday when ko's husband who works in idaho asked a neighbor to check on his wife when she didn't pick him up at the airport. she was found dead. >> i would think someone monitored the area knowing she was home by herself. the neighbors all saw her

earlier that day. >> reporter: her family quickly set up a website and is using social media in the hopes someone will spot her sky blue 2011 subaru outback with an idaho license plate. >> we have had several calls on the car but nothing that has panned out. there was apparently even a report as far south as bakersfield. >> reporter: ko was well known a long-time teacher at st. patrick's at rodeo and was involved in the community. >> she was just somebody that was so nice, so generous and like something like this to happen is just unreal. >> reporter: the reaction seems to be the same from people who stopped by to pay their respects. quiet disbelief. >> nice person. you know? it's hard. i really don't believe it. >> reporter: the family is holding a vigil here tonight at 8:30. the public is welcome. it's unclear when they are going to be able to get back into their home because the fbi has control of the home. at some point they will allow

the family back in. they have to go through the house to determine if anything in addition was stolen besides the vehicle. ann notarangelo, cbs 5. also tonight, president obama back in the bay area for a pair of san francisco fundraisers. he is hoping a big haul could put a lid on his republican rival's big post-debate bounce, a bounce that just catapulted mitt romney into the lead in at least one national poll. grace lee breaks down the numbers. >> reporter: the president is examples here at the bill graham in a couple of hours to raise money and to rally his base and if that new national poll that you're talking about is any indication, he really does need to rally the voters because it looks like he is slipping among likely voters. that pew research poll that was released this afternoon shows that the president had an 8- point lead before the debate in mid-september. he has dropped significantly and the republican nominee mitt romney is now leading the president by 4 points. clearly the debate last week

has given romney a huge bounce in the polls. and part of the reason why he made a huge increase in two key demographics including women. the president had an 18-point lead before the debate. now the two candidates are dead even among female voters 47 to 47%. and among voters under 30 years of age, romney has gained 10 points in the days following the first debate. now 42% of young voters say they view romney favorably. for the first time the president acknowledged his lackluster debate performance last night in l.a. this following a concert with katy perry and stevie wonder. >> everybody here is incredible professionals. they are such great friends. and they just perform flawlessly night after night, uhm, i can't all of us say the same. [ laughter ] >> reporter: there's also a $20,000 fundraising dinner here tonight with chez panisse cook alice waters as well as tyler

lawrence from the food network who will be cooking and while there's a lot of excitement with these new numbers there will be a lot of pressure coming this thursday on the next debate which will be among the vice-presidential candidates. ken? >> just under a month to go before election day. could get interesting. thank you, grace. many in the bay area took advantage of early voting and cast their ballots today. cbs 5 reporter mike sugerman found people who just couldn't wait another 29 days. mike. >> reporter: you mean election day is today? no, it's not! it's november 6th but no matter how people turn out at the polls that day, more people who do vote won't be there because they will be voting early. and early voting started today. you know, on election night when the polls close and right away they say with 0% of the vote in here's the latest numbers? one of those numbers is chris brown. >> i might not be able to vote at the time that i'm supposed to vote because i'm in the

process of looking for a job. i might be work it would go jobs. so... >> reporter: early voting started today in california making it the 13th state to open the polls early 29 days before the november 6 election. >> early voting exists. the voters can come in and vote early and avoid mad rushes and crowds and waiting to the last minute. >> reporter: it wasn't a mad rush at the alameda county registrar's office in oakland. the only place you can vote early in this. mary came in from pleasanton. she could have voted by mail but tried that last time and her vote didn't count. >> we were away on election day and i had turned in two absentee requests ballots and my husband got his and i didn't get mine. so i didn't get to vote. >> reporter: so this is a ballot for alameda county, the city of berkeley, there's four different cards, there's 39 different things to vote on, there's 93 choices including -- well, here's the man running for mayor who calls himself da

mayor and he is nextzachary running wolf and tom bates who is the mayor. 93 separate choices you have to make. so be prepared to spend some time here. >> i have already pretty well made my mind up on the propositions and the candidates. >> reporter: that's a smart way to avoid spending your entire afternoon down here. so in alameda county it is 52% who will either write in now or mail their ballot in. in california, it's about 50/50. and who does it help? well, it used to be republicans because they were generally ones that were a little more well off they could go away and they would send in an absentee ballot but now as you heard this gentleman say and we talked to, he might be working two jobs. so he's a democrat and it's hard to tell who will benefit. in oakland, mike sugerman, cbs 5. as campaign 2012 heats up, cbssf.com is holding a presidential forum. the candidates answering our questions. today's topic, how each would create new jobs. other bay area headlines

tonight a small earthquake rattling the napa valley this morning magnitude 3.3 shaker hitting at about 9:30 roughly 6 miles northeast of vallejo. there were no reports of any serious damage or injuries. a california judge suspended public hearings sparked by the deadly san bruno gas pipeline explosion. the delay will allow for closed door negotiations on fines to be levied against pg&e. the hearings will resume next week. the blast killed 8 people and destroyed dozens of homes more than two years ago. and crews worked through the night and into the morning clearing up the damage left by some 200 "occupy" protestors in oakland. they smashed windows, threw paint at a number of buildings in the downtown area including city hall. nobody was hurt. police made no arrests. the pain at the pump is getting political. what two of the state's most powerful people are doing to bring the numbers back down. >> well, gas prices might be

going up but at least the temperatures are coming down. so might some showers. we'll have the weather in a minute as we look live. >> blinded by a good deal. how some companies take advantage of homeowners trying to cash in a coupon. ,,,,,,,,

well, governor brown is taking some action after a california gasoline prices soared to the highest in the nation. average gallon of gas $4.74 in san francisco, $4.68 in oakland and $4.67 in san jose. now, with prices going through the roof, cbs 5 reporter phil matier tells us state leaders have opened a federal investigation. i have heard this before, phil. we actually going to see them do anything? >> reporter: that remains to be seen. but you know, ken, what you also have seen before was the time when the gas prices are going through the roof, people still have no choice but to fill up. and that's what's got politicians on the hot seat.

here's the story. >> yeah. anywhere helps i guess. >> probably political ex- subpoenaed yhency. >> reporter: that was a sampling of the reaction today at this open gas station to word in a governor brown had issued an order to allow higher polluting winter gas blend to be sold in the state early in the wake of this week's pump prices. >> i took the action that the state can and that is to change the blend in the gasoline so there's more fuel available which should drive down the price. >> reporter: california senator dianne feinstein weighed in as well calling for a federal investigation into what she calls, quote, malicious trading scheme in the california gasoline market. however, a person with the university of california energy center says it's unlikely there's a conspiracy going on by the oil companies. >> what might be going on and it would still be very difficult to detect is individual companies figuring out that if they put a little less gasoline on the market, the prices will be a bit higher. and if that's the case, it's going to be very difficult to detect and even if we did

there's nothing illegal about that. >> reporter: so there's nothing against the law about gaming the system. but what is there about the system that allows it to be gamed here in california as opposed to other states? >> reporter: the problem is we use a blend of gasoline not used anywhere else in the country. as a result when we get into a supply problem, we can't import gasoline used in other parts of the country to smooth out that shortage. >> reporter: and while the governor's order to allow the winter blend gas to come in is no long-term answer to the problem, at this point the public will take any relief they can get. >> it all counts. 22 bucks, huh? oh, not really cool, huh? >> reporter: and that message was heard here and in sacramento and it was heard in washington. and ken, you're right. we have seen investigations like this before. and they haven't come up with anything other than california's got its own blend of gas, that's how we do it, and if the system starts to

crack, that's when the prices spike. but nonetheless, calls for investigations, you think it might have anything to do with the fact there's an election right around the corner? >> the fact that cold weather is righ around the corner. every little bit helps, i suppose. thank you, phil matier. don't waste gas driving around looking for the cheapest gas. go to cbssf.com/gas to find the lowest gas prices in your neighborhood. bart saw record numbers in ridership this weekend. saturday alone had more than 300,000 passengers break the previous weekend record of more than 280,000 people. bart added additional trains and train cars during peak travel times to accommodate the increase. tomatoes packing a powerful health benefit. the anti-oxidants had could help reduce your risk of strokes. >> then good deals gone bad. how some air duct cleaning services use coupons as bait

and switch to take advantage of homeowners next on the consumerwatch. ,,,,

dan hurd: when i was a child, california was a leader in education funding. erika derry: and the fact that california isn't making it a priority frustrates me. dan hurd: i'm ashamed of that, and i don't want this to continue for my daughter. brenda kealing: prop 38 is going to bring a lot of money to our schools. suzan solomon: the money stays at the school site. cade derry: what i would really like to see is that the teachers... that were laid off come back to the school. navaz hurd: a smaller class size. navaz hurd: as a mom i want that. as a teacher i want that. prop 38 is an opportunity of a generation. now, with more than a dozenw cases and another patient 's died. cbs reporter drew levn the deadly outbreak of meningitis continues to expand. with more than a dozen new cases and one who died drew

levinson tells us most people don't even know they have been infected. >> reporter: the centers for disease control and prevention says more than 13,000 people may have been exposed to fungal meningitis linked to tainted steroids injections. it's causing concerns for people like kelly gaines. she takes shots to ease pain from a back injury. >> i'm just becoming abreast of the seriousness that can be related to this. >> reporter: the cdc reports new cases every day. 105 people in nine states are infected with the disease. eight people have died. most of the cases will r in tennessee, michigan -- most of the cases are in tennessee, michigan and virginia. doctors expect the numbers to grow over the next few weeks. >> that period of time from the exposure the innoculation, to the onset of symptoms can be quite prolonged, up to a month and maybe even a little bit longer. >> reporter: the meningitis patients received injections for back and neck pain. the new england compounding center made and distributed the steroid to clinics in 23

states. after recalling the medication, the company as a precaution voluntarily expanded the recall to all its other products. physicians are still contacting people who may have been exposed. symptoms include headache, nausea, dizziness and fever. >> the importance of getting treated early, of course, is that it gives us a chance to attack the infection and treat it before it causes too much damage. >> reporter: doctors say this form of meningitis is not contagious and treatment is extensive. drew levinson, cbs news. iphone 5 users are adding another complaint to their list. many are getting a purple flare on some of their photos. apple claims it happens on many smartphone cameras if they are aimed toward a light source. now, the company says the purple flare has been an issue for all the models of the iphone. the only fix apple is offering is telling customers to avoid pointing a camera at bright

lights. [ laughter ] and apple stock continued to decline ever since closing above $700 on september 18. today it fell $10 to $642. overall stocks were down today as investors worry about forecasts for a weak season for u.s. corporate earnings. the dow lost 27 points closing in at 13,5 84. the nasdaq gave up 24 and the s&p 500 fell five points. a lot of people respond to low cost offers that turn out to be anything but. cbs 5 consumerwatch reporter julie watts takes a look at a duct cleaning deal that costs the consumer a whole lot more than she expected. reporter: >> they drilled a hole up here and inserted a uv live. >> reporter: but elizabeth danner is still in the dark about how it got there. last month after receiving phone solicitations from a company called advanced air care, she hired them to clean the air ducts in her mother's home. she expected it would cost about $60. >> she said unlimited vents for

$59.95. >> reporter: instead her elderly mother got a bill for more than $1,500. >> i was speechless. she was overwhelmed. she said they were talking too fast and doing things as they talked. >> reporter: the figures on the bill are illegible but looks like they include treatments and dryer vent cleaning and an extra $650 for that uv light. >> he was trying to explain things... that i know nothing about. >> that's probably unfortunate. >> reporter: lori wilson. bbb says while there are some honest companies others offer low cost deals as a bait-and- switch tactic to take advantage of unsuspecting homeowners. >> there are companies who will come in with a coupon or low price and try and up-sell the homeowner. >> reporter: that was the case two years ago when we arranged this undercover duct cleaning

with another company. we had a coupon for $77 but technicians tried to sell us nearly $500 worth of extras we didn't need. the danners' bill is more than triple that. >> the subtotal of $100 more than all this added. >> reporter: advanced air cleaning doesn't have a website. but the phone number on the bill is the same number used by at least three other air duct cleaning companies. one in washington state, another in southern california, and one in chicago. two of those companies have an f-rating from the bbb, a rating elizabeth danner feels is justified for a company she feels takes advantage of the elderly. >> i wish i was here so i could say, it wouldn't have happened if i were here. >> reporter: now, advanced air care did not respond to our repeated calls and e-mails but we are in the process of tracking them down out of state. while the solano county d.a. can neither confirm nor deny and investigation, the office there is aware of repeated problems. this is an ongoing story.

just a reminder, air duct cleaning should take 3 to 4 hours and cost around $400. if you get an ofr for 70 bucks, watch out. >> we talked about this. we have both done stories. the 59.95, that's not what we're talking about. brian, we had a nice typical fall day today but changes could be on the horizon? >> we may have to say a four- letter word during weather, so turn the volume down. if the rain comes there won't be much. but we do look for the first chance of the season though. we head outside to ocean beach and a look at the entire of western san francisco county what it used to look like. 69 at concord, livermore 70. sfo 66. and in the weather headlines, for the first time in a long time we are talking about a chance of showers for the bay area. it would not amount to much. in fact, there's not much of a chance but you have to mention this kind of thing especially if you have important projects that might need to be covered up or something like that. so low totals if anything.

it will be continued cool in the bay area until the end of the week and let's have a look at where it's all coming from. low pressure is spinning now abeam san francisco is showing the collection of clouds that will move in over the bay area tomorrow afternoon through wednesday afternoon. and that will lead to the chance of showers, the pesky low and upper level devil because they are kind of hard to predict where they are going and how much punch they have with them. it's going to track south then kick inland and when it kicks inland, that's when we pick up our slight shower chance tomorrow afternoon. you get a better idea when you look at the futurecast over the next 24 hours. overnight tonight, look at this, clear skies for the most part. here's tomorrow morning. low clouds move -- move in. now look at the south bay. the radar lighting up over the santa cruz mountains and the hamilton range. there's not many people that live over the hamilton range or the santa cruz mountains so if you are up in the hills you might get a shore our two. there's the potential for lower down but this is minuscule on the order of things.

that chance though does linger through wednesday, patchy low clouds to start out tomorrow and partly cloudy skies elsewhere. here's the pinpoint. tomorrow, temperatures will cool a little bit more. we were down about 3 degrees today. tomorrow livermore, which was a week ago about 102 degrees, tomorrow will just be 72. up in the north bay, the numbers will be very pleasant upper 60s, low 70s. mostly sunny skies for the bay area tomorrow until the low clouds move in. and the five-day forecast again the first couple of days we're overdoing it putting the chance of showers in for the next two days. watch next weekend, we warm back up again. nd, we warm so after a chance, it may happen. >> it may happen. >> may not. [ laughter ] >> you're leaving it open. >> that, my dear, is the life in weather. we'll see. coming up, tomatoes and your health. the new health benefits discovered that could make tomatoes a super food

your life. c-b-s reporter

(vin-neeta nye-er) you are what you eat but what if what you ate could save your life? we explore the link between tomatoes and strokes. >> reporter: 28-year-old seth jones tries to eat a healthy diet. >> i prefer to maintain a vegetarian diet. however, i do eat meat on occasion. >> reporter: now a new study shows those tomatoes could lower his risk of stroke. researchers followed about 1,000 men in finland and tested their blood for lycopene found in tomatoes and tomato-based foods. people with the highest amounts of lycopene in their blood why 55% less likely to have a stroke. >> lycopene is an anti-oxidant so it may help prevent damage to the walls of our blood vessels. >> reporter: nutritionists say you can get more lycopene from a tomato by cooking it. it breaks down the tomato's cell walls and makes it easier for your body to absorb the anti-oxidants. more research is needed to

confirm the study's results. but experts say everyone should still eat more than five servings of fruits and vegetables to stay healthy. >> we're not just talking about stroke. we're talking about high blood pressure, diabetes, obesity, heart disease. a healthy diet rich in fruits and vegetables, can help prevent chronic disease. >> reporter: seth says he is glad what's for dinner could help his health. >> probably pizza, maybe pasta. >> reporter: his grandfather died from a stroke so he is hoping this new research could prevent one. venita nair for cbs news, new york. ,, ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

and here's what's coming up for the 6:00 news. >> i looked down on the ground and there was this little canister. i picked it up and unscrewed the cap and the snout was in there from a young man. >> like a message in a bottle, only it was found at the top of a california mountain. the scout who left it the bay area man who found the note and where it's taking them both tonight. that story and more tonight at 6:00. thanks for watching. the "cbs evening news with scott pelley" is next. >> and remember, the latest news and weather always on cbssf.com. captions by: caption colorado comments@captioncolorado.com